Among those teams is Team Sugarbee. It formed 25 years ago among the friends and family of Kelly Walker after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The team got it’s name from Kelly’s childhood nickname — “Sugarbee.”

“We’re not scientists so we can’t find a cure. But we wanted to raise money for that. We can certainly do that,” said Tim Walker Junior, team captain.

(credit Team Sugarbee)

Team Sugarbee started out with just six people and has grown of the years to include as many as 100. While Kelly’s sibling have taken of the challenge of biking more than 100 miles, her parents spent 20 years running a rest stop. Tim Walker Sr. and his wife retired this year.

(credit Team Sugarbee)

“My wife, who is a splendid organizer, organized some 40 to 50 volunteers consisting of family, friends, colleagues. It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun,” said Tim Walker Sr.

“We watched this disease take the best athlete in our family. We watched her go from a gate, to a walker, to a wheelchair, to a power wheelchair, now pretty much 100-percent physically dependent over the years,” said Eric Walker.